1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to woodworking accessories and, more particularly, to a sled for use with a router table.
2. Background
The electric router is one of the most versatile woodworking tools available. The router was originally designed as a "hand shaper" for cutting moldings and profiles. With a modest selection of cutters, it may also be used for shaping, joint-making, duplicating, and trimming.
Many fixtures will hold a router stationary. Their design depends on where the operator wants to hold the tool in relation to the workpiece. An overarm router, for example, holds the router above the work. This is useful for certain pattern-routing operations. A joint maker typically holds the router beside the work to make joinery cuts. The most versatile stationary routing jig, however, is a router table, which holds the router below the work.
On most router tables, the router is attached to a mounting plate, made from thin plastic or metal. This plate is mounted flush with the surface of the table, suspending the router upside down below it. A design that is superior to in many respects uses a stiff steel table, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,880, for a "Router Table Top", which is incorporated by reference herein. To use a table-mounted router, the workpiece is typically guided along a fence as it passes over the bit. A router table fence is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,407 for a "Router Table Fence System", which is incorporated by reference herein.
In combination, the router, router table, and fence facilitate the creation of numerous types of woodworking patterns and joints. Edge treatments such as roundovers, chamfers, and ogees may be easily created using the proper router bit. Moreover, complex decorative joints, such as dovetail joints may be routed on a router table using dovetail bits. Rabbets and grooves may be formed with safety and control. The router/router table/fence combination may even be used for less conventional purposes, such as jointing an edge of a warped board.
Nevertheless, certain operations are difficult to perform using only a router table and a fence. Routing the end of a workpiece, for instance, is difficult and can be unsafe because only a small surface area of the piece contacts the fence and the user's fingers pass dangerously close to the high-velocity bit. Finally, finger joints-regularly spaced cuts along the width of a workpiece-cannot be easily cut with the router/router table/fence combination alone. Instead, such joints often must be created using a table saw or additional router table jigs or accessories.